Delegation Hypothetical - Administrative Law

Scenario: You are a legislative aide to a state legislator who wishes to introduce legislation creating a new state department of drug enforcement. It is intended that, among other authorities, this new administrative agency will have authority to establish a list of controlled drugs, establish rules regarding penalties for possession or use of controlled drugs, establish a process for adjudicating cases involving violators of the rules, and enter into contracts with a private agency or agencies to establish and manage a system of one or more incarceration facilities to which violators of these rules may be sentenced upon a finding of guilt.

In your paper be sure to address the following:

Identify and analyze any delegation issues. State any assumptions you make in your analysis.
What recommendations would you make to ensure that this legislation will not be found to be an improper delegation of authority?

Solution Preview

The best way to approach this hypothetical is to first clearly lay out what is stated in the hypothetical. This will help you to understand what the issues present may be as well as where to begin your research and writing.
- Legislation which creates a new state department of drug enforcement (administrative agency)
- State department of drug enforcement will have the authority to:
- Establish a list of controlled drugs
- Establish rules regarding the penalties for possession or use of the controlled drugs
- Establish a process of adjudicating cases involving violators of these rules
- Enter into a contract with a private agency or agencies to establish and manage a system of one or more incarceration facilities to which violators of these rules may be sentenced upon a finding of guilt.

As you can see, the drug enforcement agency is delegated the authority to do four things. (It is important to note that the fourth delegation may give the agency the authority to delegate authority which was delegated to it.)

After you clearly lay out what is stated in the hypothetical, you will want to define delegation of authority, and identify where the power of the legislature to delegate its authority comes from.

• "...Congress can effectively delegate its legislative power to an Administrative Agency. Article I, Section I, of the U.S. Constitution provides that all legislative power is vested in Congress. Despite early resistance, the U.S. Supreme Court gradually accepted the delegation of legislative authority so long as Congress sets clear standards for the administration of the duties in order to limit the scope of agency discretion. With this basic principle as their guide, courts have invalidated laws that grant too much legislative power to an administrative agency" (Delegation of Authority, Administrative Law and Procedure, The Free Dictionary, http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/delegation+of+authority.)
Therefore, the legislative bodies do have the power to delegate authority so ...